head to head · open source
LocalSend vs xplr
LocalSend has 92,564 GitHub stars, 5,164 forks, 1,113 open issues and last shipped yesterday. xplr has 4,828 stars, 96 forks, 12 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. LocalSend leads on adoption by 1,817% (92,564 vs 4,828 stars). LocalSend is written in Dart under Apache-2.0; xplr is written in Rust under MIT. LocalSend has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, xplr 2%. LocalSend was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| LocalSend | xplr | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 93K | ★ 4.8K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Dart | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-24 | 2026-09-23 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.2K | ⑂ 96 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick LocalSend if
- You weight community size — 93K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Dart
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick xplr if
- You want the xplr feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and xplr fits your workflow better
About LocalSend
LocalSend is a free, open source, cross platform application that shares files and messages directly between nearby devices over the local network, and it is built for anyone who wants AirDrop style transfers without an internet connection or a third party server.
read the full LocalSend overview →
About xplr
xplr is a hackable, minimal and fast terminal UI file explorer, written in Rust and released under the MIT licence, for command line users who want a scriptable, keyboard controlled visual layer over the filesystem utilities they already run.
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Frequently asked questions
Is LocalSend or xplr more popular?
LocalSend has 92,564 GitHub stars and xplr has 4,828. LocalSend has the larger community by that measure.
Are LocalSend and xplr free?
Both are open source. LocalSend is licensed under Apache-2.0 and xplr under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between LocalSend and xplr?
LocalSend is written in Dart and xplr in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, LocalSend or xplr?
Choose LocalSend if you want the larger community (92,564 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose xplr if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.